"It was the stories behind the team, including that of Curly Lambeau, who back in the 1920s helped establish the team as an NFL powerhouse, that inspired Le Duc to pen a screenplay, to share the team's history with the rest of the world."

Recently, Diebold has waged an intimidation campaign to repress circulation of employee e-mails that raise concerns about the security of its electronic voting machines. Since early October 2003, Diebold has sent more than a dozen cease-and-desist letters to Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and universities that host websites that either posted Diebold employee e-mails or merely hyperlinked to other websites with the e-mails."

"Rep. Dave Weldon, R-Fla., a medical doctor who sponsored the provision to be included in a giant spending bill, said it would codify existing Patent Office rules that human organisms are not patentable subject matter."

Parents, infants learn sign language: "Colorado Springs parents are part of a rapidly growing trend of using signing to communicate with hearing babies. &0133; The idea isn't to replace the spoken word, but to establish two-way communication with children who have the motor skills to make signs but haven't yet developed the skills needed for speech.

"'We've always felt very strongly that children have lots of thoughts and ideas, but just didn't have the means to get them out,' says Michelle Sanderson, director of the school. 'We know that at 13 months of age, they have about a 50-word vocabulary of what they can understand but only a two- or three-word vocabulary of what they can say.'

"A commonly voiced concern is that signing will discourage a baby from learning to speak, but studies have shown the opposite is true. Research has found that babies exposed to signing have higher IQs, accelerated language development and a greater interest in books, among other benefits."

Are You Liberal or Conservative?: "Looking to the past, it is no wonder that confusion exists regarding the understanding of what the terms liberal and conservative really mean.

"It is only in the last century that the term liberal has become associated with socialism. This collectivist ideology involves the redistribution of income and wealth with an accordingly greater control by the central government over the interactions of economic enterprise.

"Prior to this evolutionary change, being liberal had the reverse meaning of being in strong support of individual freedom with an attendant limited role of government in one’s life. "

Wednesday, November 26, 2003

NASA told to slow space-plane plans: "In one of several stern directives to NASA, congressional budget-writers are suggesting that it slow down plans for an orbital space plane until there is a broader vision for the troubled agency.

"As part of a massive federal spending bill produced by House and Senate negotiatorswhich was filed Tuesdaylawmakers expressed concern that the proposed spacecraft may not fit in after that broader vision is established."

Hobbyist Turned NASA Contractor: "What started as a hobby, has turned into a unique partnership with NASA for a Central Texas man. Bob Cervenka's work may help to keep future shuttle astronauts safe.

"Cervenka fell into an opportunity of a lifetime about four years ago. He wanted to build a radio controlled replica of the space shuttle's orbiter, complete with landing gear, and a turbine engine. He contacted NASA, and after some convincing, entered into an agreement in which the space agency would help him with the plans.

"And from there the interest grew to the point where they said, 'Wait a minute, can we share some technology or can we share some ideas with you so you can test these on what you're doing?' And is sort of developed from there and it's still developing. They're wanting me to do more and more each day," says Cervenka.

"During the December 2 briefing Feldt will call on students to join her for the March for Freedom of Choice in Washington, DC, on April 25, 2004. This historic gathering, which will include thousands of college students just like you, will march to the National Mall."

Yes, abortion may reduce teen pregnancy, but that doesn't make it right. We need to pray for these people. Just as they begin preparing far in advance for something like this April event for next year, so must we.

"The shards bolster theories that meteors caused several of the mass extinctions in earth's history when large numbers of species died out almost simultaneously. Most scientists agree that the most recent major mass extinction 65 million years ago, which killed off the dinosaurs, was caused when a meteor struck the earth near the Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico.

"The extinction 250 million years ago, known as the Permian-Triassic boundary, was the largest extinction of all. More than 90 percent of species living in the oceans and 70 percent of those on land disappeared.

"At present, the primary suspected cause for the Permian-Triassic extinction is giant volcanic eruptions in Siberia, which might have induced catastrophic ecological changes.

"Writing in Friday's issue of the journal Science, the researchers report that they found the meteorite fragments in rocks in Antarctica that date to the Permian-Triassic boundary. The mineral composition of the fragments, each less than one-fiftieth of an inch, or roughly half a millimeter, wide, correspond to that of certain meteorites and is like nothing found naturally on earth, they reported."

With a little tweaking, this would be an intriguing explanation of how God executed his flood of judgment on earth and wiped out most of life on earth. Just as the second and final judgment of earth will affect the entire cosmos, so perhaps the first judgment was as universal in its effects.

There is a growing school of thought in creation science that such astronomical activity is what triggered "all the fountains of the great deep" breaking up and other flood-related activity. Perhaps the asteroid belt is what's left of a planet that He blew up to bombard earth and the rest of the planets and moon in the solar system. Look at our moon! There's more.

More work, but holiday hiring same: "'Retailers are hiring people who are flexible,' [National Retail Federation Spokeswoman Ellen] Tolley said. 'They might be hiring the same amount of people, but those employees will be working twice as much.'" How true is that!!

"The functional, emotional and social dimensions of the jobs that customers need to get done constitute the circumstances in which they buy. In other words, the jobs that customers are trying to get done or the outcomes that they are trying to achieve constitute a circumstance-based categorization of markets.

"Companies that target their products at the circumstances in which customers find themselves, rather than at the customers themselves, are those that can launch predictably successful products. Put another way, the critical unit of analysis is the circumstance and not the customer."

Put a Genesis 1 way, address the Day 1 to 3 environment before the Day 4 to 6 things that fill it!

Tuesday, November 11, 2003

Stand In Awe!: "It is time to stand in awe! In awe of who God is and who we are. &0133; Let us then be done with lesser things. Too many of us are successful in accomplishing those things which simply are not worth doing. What is money worth which is not used to serve the Savior?"

"Christian realities are, in fact, to be viewed with awe and then with commitment, for they are the ultimate truths of the universe. We presume, therefore, to offer a word of advice to all who would pursue the mission glorious of living for Him."

Whether it be resurrecting the Soviet Union in Brussels, dominating South America through the Forum of Sao Paulo, or obscuring the erosion of religious freedom from the Church in the United States, he has one goal: to keep the Gospel of Jesus Christ from spreading.

Patrick Henry once declared, "It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religions, but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. For this very reason peoples of other faiths have been afforded asylum, prosperity, and freedom of worship here."

Freedom comes directly from God Himself, and his love for us. His archenemy is about using whatever means necessary, especially government, to control and supress the spread of the Gospel. Sadly, he has rendered the Church in America not much of a threat; and the Church is hardly willing to fight back.

The Tide of Our Times: "Two Romanian astronomers claim to have pinpointed the exact time and date of the crucifixion of Jesus. In 2002 a staggering 91% of church kids who said 'there is no absolute truth.' It is estimated that 10,000 to 25,000 people accept Christ as Savior every day in China."

Voyager approaching solar system's final frontier: "NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft is about to make history again as the first spacecraft to enter the solar system's final frontier, a vast expanse where wind from the Sun blows hot against thin gas between the stars: interstellar space. However, before it reaches this region, Voyager 1 must pass through the termination shock, a violent zone that is the source of beams of high-energy particles."

Mobility adapting as a power player: "Mobility Electronics Inc. is finally living up to its on-the-move name. Newsweek and other big-name publications have praised its all-in-one Juice charger, which gives users one device that charges their laptop computers, cellphones or PDAs at home, in the car or in planes. Mobility recently signed a major multiyear deal to develop power products for retailing giant RadioShack Corp. Its sales are taking off, and its stock is back out of the tank."

"'We went back to some of our roots and we finally said, "OK, it's time to start exploiting those,"' he said. Mobile devices were proliferating, and the group saw that people needed ways to accommodate multiple gadgets. Mobility kept up its pace of spending about $6 million a year on research and development. It started developing new power products, first among them the Juice charger.

"The company also started to diversify by acquiring other businesses in the computer-peripheral space, using precious cash from its initial public offering and stock battered by the depressed tech market. It bought iGo Corp., a Reno-based company whose main strength was in distributing its products through catalogs and major resellers such as CDW, Insight Enterprises and Micro Warehouse. 'They had a long list of people they'd sell to and we didn't have relationships with,' Mollo said. Mobility also bought Portsmith Inc., a Boise, Idaho, company making modems and cradles for hand-held computers, and Cutting Edge Software Inc. of Dallas, which developed software for hand-helds and cellphones.

"It cut dozens of jobs at the acquired companies, outsourced its call center and Web site operations, and outsourced most of its manufacturing to companies in Taiwan, China and Idaho. Along the way it also settled lawsuits from rivals alleging patent infringements. Mobility's stock price is still off about 4 percent from the $12 it garnered when the company went public in June 2000. But that's much better than other Arizona companies that went public that same market-mad year."

"Juice went on the market this summer, becoming the first combination AC/DC power adapter in the industry. Analyst Michael Kim of Roth Capital Partners LLC in Newport Beach, Calif., said Juice puts Mobility on the cusp of a strong ramp-up in power adapter sales. 'You're seeing a pretty rapid proliferation of mobile devices, but the power adapter side of the equation hasn't changed much,' he said. 'There's no reason you can't have one intelligent adapter.'

"Both Blankenship and Kim call the RadioShack deal big for Mobility, both because of RadioShack's 7,000 stores and the chance to develop new products due in the retailer's stores next year. The company pursued Radio Shack for a long time, Mollo said. Under the agreement, Mobility will develop a family of in-car power adapters for cellphones, a line of computer power adapters and new adapters for digital cameras, MP3 players and other electronic gadgets.

"The move takes Mobility into the broader electronics market, and plays into RadioShack's new initiative to identify emerging markets and innovative products."

I have already customized my toolbar to the hilt. It sits atop my desktop with my Address toolbar on auto-hide. Instead of the default <Ctrl>+<Alt>+G to pop up to the search bar, I'm using F1. After all, I never use the system help anyway, so why not have it accessible with one easy keystroke? For the mini-viewer, I set that to F9, another infrequently used key on my keyboard.

This toolbar is also quite useful in replacing the old QuickSearch shortcuts I had set up. There are now 11 custom searches on my deskbar. I still have a few QuickSearches set up for my days in politics for tracking members of Congress and their legislation. :)

The relevant Google Labs team will soon have my list of suggestions and a bug fix or two, soon. Thanks, Google, for great service as always.

Friday, November 7, 2003

Politicians Catch The Space Bug: "Maybe it was China's orbital mission in October; maybe it was the recent release of the Columbia Accident Investigation report with its challenge to continuing human spaceflight; just possibly it was the buzz about the X Prize in recent weeks as a couple of teams seem to be close to the finish line. Whatever the trigger, many of our leaders seem to have discovered a new interest in space science and development."

Guys, Look Spiffy In A Jiffy: "From machine washable suits, to maintenance free shirts, and stain resistant ties, the National Retail Federation says business-casual is out and fuss-free formal is in!"

RCR Wireless News: "Sprint PCS is apparently getting closer to launching its planned push-to-talk service, as a newly approved mobile phone from Sprint handset provider Sanyo features what appears to be a dedicated PTT button.

"The Federal Communications Commission recently approved the new Sanyo phone, the SCP-5500 [which] features an integrated digital camera for both picture and video capture as well as text messaging and Java support. The phone also features a dedicated Ready Link button, [Sprint's] PTT offering."

Netflix, TiVo, and XM Satellite: "TiVo just surpased the million-subscriber mark, a milepost it hadn't expected to reach until the holidays. XM Satellite Radio which reported Q3 earnings this morning, is also celebrating the million sub mark, and movie rental service, Netflix recently passed the mark, too, and now has 1.3 million subs."

Wednesday, November 5, 2003

Israel proposes its first motion at UN since 1976: "Israel has challenged the United Nations to show as much compassion for Israeli children as it does for Palestinian youth by calling on the world body to endorse a resolution that censures those who kill Israeli youngsters through terrorism."

"Israel's motion comes against a backdrop of Palestinian suicide attacks that have killed or injured scores of Israeli children, among other civilians, in the last year. The motion marks the first time since 1976 that Israel, which has been the object of hundreds of critical UN resolutions over the last three and a half decades, has tabled anything at the world body."

"A vote on the issue is expected by the end of the month in a committee that includes all of the General Assembly's 191 members, and so serves as an indicator of how the final vote will go in the GA plenary later this fall."

"Israel's last proposal for a resolution came on Dec. 6, 1976, when it circulated a draft calling for the reconvening of Middle East peace talks with Egypt, Jordan and Syria. However, it withdrew the document three days later when amendments were introduced that would have included in the talks the Palestine Liberation Organization, whose charter still called for Israel's destruction."

Tuesday, November 4, 2003

Develop a Five-Year Plan for Your Site: "Web sites change the way an organization communicates with its staff, customers, investors and the general public. A change in communication is a major shift for the organization.

"To effectively implement such a change will take time. You need a five-year plan for your Web site. Let’s dispel a big myth—that the Internet is changing so fast, it is impossible to plan for. That is absolute rubbish."

Students buck DMCA threat: "Because the legal status of hyperlinking to copyrighted documents is unclear, the lawsuit is noteworthy for that reason as well. In a November 2001 case that pitted the major movie studios against 2600 magazine, the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that linking to illegal content can be restricted 'consistent with the limitations of the First Amendment.' That ruling is not binding on California courts."

Students buck DMCA threat | CNET News.com: "Because the legal status of hyperlinking to copyrighted documents is unclear, the lawsuit is noteworthy for that reason as well. In a November 2001 case that pitted the major movie studios against 2600 magazine, the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that linking to illegal content can be restricted 'consistent with the limitations of the First Amendment.' That ruling is not binding on California courts. "

Students buck DMCA threat | CNET News.com: "Because the legal status of hyperlinking to copyrighted documents is unclear, the lawsuit is noteworthy for that reason as well. In a November 2001 case that pitted the major movie studios against 2600 magazine, the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that linking to illegal content can be restricted 'consistent with the limitations of the First Amendment.' That ruling is not binding on California courts. "

Students buck DMCA threat | CNET News.com: "Because the legal status of hyperlinking to copyrighted documents is unclear, the lawsuit is noteworthy for that reason as well. In a November 2001 case that pitted the major movie studios against 2600 magazine, the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that linking to illegal content can be restricted 'consistent with the limitations of the First Amendment.' That ruling is not binding on California courts. "

Teacher-astronaut determined to carry on dream: "In just over a week, Barbara Morgan should have been rocketing into orbit as NASA's first fully trained educator-astronaut, carrying on the shattered dream of Christa McAuliffe. Like the space shuttle fleet, though, Morgan is grounded indefinitely. Her ship, Columbia, is gone along with seven more friends, lost in a wintry Texas sky.

"Yet the former Idaho elementary schoolteacher who was McAuliffe's backup for the doomed Challenger flight is determined to persevere. NASA remains committed to the education-in-space program as well."

Saturday, November 1, 2003

Kansas man's study of flight leads to work as drangonfly expert: After Roy J. Beckemeyer "retired from Boeing in 1997, he invested more time in the study of bugs. He walked regularly along Cowskin Creek in Pawnee Prairie Park, carrying a huge dragonfly net, accompanied by his dragonfly-hunting Labrador retriever, Joe.

"One day he borrowed a high-speed camera and filmed dragonflies in flight. Conventional film takes a picture of a moving image at 30 frames per second. The camera he borrowed from Wichita State University's National Institute for Aviation Research takes 1,000 frames per second; it's used to create the ultimate slow-motion film showing what happens to crash test dummies during tests.

"Roy made films and studied them in his Riverside home. And he sat back and smiled. The films showed what he'd already learned from the research of others.

"Most bugs have four wings, which operate together as one - 'in phase' with each other, as aeronautical engineers say. Dragonflies have four wings, which operate 'out of phase' with each other, if the dragonfly so chooses. Out-of-phase wings create an incredible flying machine that turns on a dime, climbs or dives like lightning, yaws or rolls with almost unbelievable dexterity."

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Now I beg you, brethren, through the Lord Jesus Christ, and through the love of the Spirit, that you strive together with me in prayers to God for me, that I may be delivered from those in Judea who do not believe, and that my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints, that I may come to you with joy by the will of God, and may be refreshed together with you. Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen.
Romans 15:30-33